Purpose - The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to empirically evaluate the key impediments to the competitiveness of the rail sector in Australia; and second, to provide relevant transport management and policy recommendations for enhanced competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach - This paper has adopted an empirical approach. A survey was developed and distributed among rail stakeholders in Australia. Accordingly, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to evaluate the key impeding areas.

Findings - This paper found four areas that are impeding rail development, these being infrastructure management, shortage of freight data and poor information sharing, service delivery and organisational and commercial interactions.

Research limitations/implications - The theoretical approach of this thesis can be applied to any freight market where competition exists between different transport modes. However, the specific strategies provided in this research in terms of transportation management, infrastructure planning and policy were made according to the specific market condition, infrastructure quality and regulation that exist in Australia.

Practical implications - The findings provide important implications for both industry and government in terms of making transport planning and policy decisions, but also useful insights by identifying the weak parts of the rail sector and directions to target them.

Originality/value - The notion of the rail stakeholder does not appear to have been previously defined in the literature. Therefore, this research takes a broader view of rail stakeholders to include various interest groups within the rail sector and its operational environment.